Johnson’s populism has given the Tories a lifeline – but they are running out of ideas | Andy Beckett

After almost a decade in government, the party has nothing left to offer but a tired conservatism

Since Boris Johnson became prime minister there’s been a quiet dread on the left, and a less quiet excitement on the right, that the Tories have found a new magic formula – one that will renew their nine-year-old government. A cartoonishly charismatic leader, a shameless softening of austerity, populist attacks on liberals and the nationalist adventure of Brexit: all this has been carefully calculated, the fear goes, so that the Conservatives can sweep out of their southern English heartlands and into the electorally decisive north and Midlands.

Predictions of an imminent Tory breakthrough and new ascendancy are familiar in British politics – it’s arguably the commentariat’s default analysis. Only two years ago, Theresa May’s combination of tut-tutting provincial conservatism and disapproval of the worst aspects of capitalism briefly persuaded many observers, from the editor of the Daily Mail, Paul Dacre, to the usually reliable political scientist David Runciman, that she could dominate politics for years to come.

The social, political and economic challenge of actually ‘getting Brexit done' should not be underestimated

Related: Tories accused of using public funds for Facebook ads in key seats

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